The present invention relates to vehicle mounted spare tire carriers and, in particular, to a compound hinged carrier requiring reduced amounts of working free space and rotating over an approximate 270 degree arc between rear and side mount positions.
Pick-up truck, van and other recreational vehicle owners have long been plagued with the problem of spare tire storage. That is, where and how-to store a full-size spare tire without taking up usable cargo space. As a consequence, a number of metal framework carrier assemblies have been developed for mounting the spare tire to the vehicle exterior which carriers may be found in many automobile stores, department stores or automotive catalogs. In particular, carriers have been developed for, among other places, supporting the tire from the vehicle undercarriage, front bumper, rear bumper, rear door and front/rear quarter panel.
The latter rear door and quarter panel assemblies, however, find particular advantage with vehicles having a hinged rear access door or gate. In some of these embodiments the tire carrier and tire are independently mounted to the vehicle body, away from the door/gate to prevent obstructing the door/gate during normal use. Such a mounting prevents damage to the door/gate which can occur over time with the tire weight producing body deformation, rust, etc. The separately mounted tire carrier, in particular is mountable to sturdier body parts, thereby being more tolerant to vehicle vibration.
An independent mounting, however, has its disadvantages in that use of the door/gate requires the operator to first disengage and rotate the tire to one side, to a temporary unrestrained position, before operating the door/gate in a conventional fashion. Thereafter, the tire must be resecured, before the vehicle can be operated.
A further shortcoming of such prior art carriers is that in cramped spaces, the radius of arc or working free space required to rotate the carrier is rather large. This is due to the rigidity of the carrier frame, which requires space for the frame as well as for the portion of the tire which extends beyond the end of the frame. Additional space is also required for the operator's movement such as is necessary to swing and walk around the carrier.
A still further shortcoming of such carriers is that to Applicant's knowledge, the frameworks provide only for a fixed vertical spacing between the vehicle pivots which requires a number of differently sized and configured carriers for different body types.